Cigar bunch shaping machine



May 9, 1939.

J. F. HALSTEAD CIGAR BUNCH SHAP ING MACHINE Filed Jan. ll, 1935 Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIGAR BUNCH SHAPING MACHINE Application January 11, 1935, Serial No. 1,380

15 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar bunch shaping machines, particularly to a machine of the general type of that disclosed in the United States patent to Wheeler 1,964,101, dated June 26, 1934,

in which the bunches are shaped within a plurality of traveling pockets with which a complementary shaping element coacts to enclose a cigar shaped space within which the bunch lies and is brought to substantially the shape desired for the finished product,

Since the bunches received from the binder applying means have projecting binder portions of varying length, it is necessary to first locate the bunches with respect to a cutter and then trim ;:1- the projecting binder portion by means of this cutter. When the trimming is done in the pocket in which the final shaping of the bunch takes place, an opening in the end of the pocket must be provided to permit the projecting binder portion or tail to project. When the tail is trimmed, a small tit or projection is left on the end of the cigar consisting of that portion of the bunch which lies in the aforesaid opening. This tit includes enough projecting binder material to cover the trimmed end of the bunch and hence has some use if the tit can be brought down to the shape desired at the tip of the head end of the cigar. Hitherto in machines of this type, no practical solution of the problem of shaping cigars in this manner and at the same time eliminating the efiect of this tit or projection on the finished cigar head, was available, so far as known. I have discovered that by first trim ming the bunch in pockets such as hitherto used,

with an open or slotted head end and then transferring these bunches to a pocket or pocket portion having a fully closed head end and then shaping the bunch between this pocket and a complementary shaping element also coacting with the pocket to form a fully closed and shaped cigar tip, that superior cigar heads to those hitherto made in this type of machine can be produced.

It is therefore one of the principal objects of the invention to produce concentrated or shaped cigar bunches having heads without the projections referred to and of exactly the shape desired for the finished cigar. Another object is to avoid the so called wrapper heads produced by stretching a wrapper over the hollows between the main body of the bunch head and a projecting tip, which have an air space below, between the wrapper and the bunch. Still another object of the invention is to provide a bunch in which the binder is laid over the open or cut trimmed portion to close the trimmed end of the bunch. This latter squeezing of the projecting tip in laying it in against the end of the bunch to form the finished cigar, eliminates a difiiculty which results When an attempt is made to trim so closely to the bunch that there is very little projecting tip portion. That difficulty is that not enough binder material is provided to cover the trimmed end, so that when the pressure on the bunch is released, the bunch tends to expand around the trimmed end, leaving a hole within. Another object of the present invention is to make possible the satisfactory production of diflicult shapes such as round head and sharply pointed heads and the like, and thus make possible use of this machine for shapes for which these machines were hitherto not thought practical.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations which will be hereinafter fully described and then particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

Referring now to the several views in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the improved bunch shaping machine;

Fig, 2 is a plan view of the head end of one of the pockets shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view in elevation of one of the improved closed head end bunch shapers;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the bunch shaping pocket shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a detailed view of the completed head end of the bunch; and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of a bunchreceiving pocket at a position to admit the seating plunger, showing the slot through the tail portion of the bunch protrudes.

In carrying the invention into effect, there are provided an endless series of cigar shaped pockets each having a shaping wall at the head end of a bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch together with movable complementary shaping elements, each co-operating with one of said pockets to compress the bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar head, and mechanism for trimming the head end of the bunch of the projecting tail of binder material, prior to the compressing and forming operation.

In the preferred form of the invention, the complementary shaping element is given a movement in a plane at right angles to the length of the bunch in the pocket. In the best form contemplated, a bunch conveying device having a cigar shaped pocket, which in some forms may be one of an endless series of traveling pockets, is provided, for receiving and locating the bunch, which pocket has a slot or opening at its end, permitting a tail of the bunch to project, together with a cutter acting outside the pocket to trim the tail on said bunch.

Referring now to Fig. l of the drawing, a rotating turret or carrier I4 on a horizontal shaft I3, carries about its circumference an endless series of concentrator or shaper pockets Ma. This carrier I4 is intermittently rotated through gears 26 and 28, the latter on a shaft 29 supported in the main machine frame 9. This shaft 29 also carries a gear 30 engaging a gear 3| on the shaft I5, thereby driving this carrier I4 in synchronism with a second pocketed carrier turret I6. The turret I 4 is given its intermittent motion through any suitable indexing mechanism to successively bring pockets into uppermost position, and is of a construction described in the patent to- Wheeler above referred to, to which reference is made for further details.

As fully described in the Wheeler patent mentioned, the cigar bunches as received from the binder applying mechanism of the bunch machine are manually inserted in the pockets Ifia of the turret carrier I6. These pockets at their head ends are of the shape shown in Fig. 2 with a slot or opening IIib in which the tail formed by the projecting end portion of the binder is pushed by the operator. The bunch is seated in its pocket by the plunger 34, which is carried by a bracket 33 connecting the rods 32- and 3E and actuated by mechanism shown in the above mentioned Wheeler patent, fitting into the pockets Ifia and provided with a recess fitting the contour of the bunch. This tail, portion is trimmed in the form illustrated by the movement of the head end of the pocket past one of the stationary knives I26 engaging with the end faces of the turret I6 as a ledger plate, leaving the head end of the bunch B in the condition shown in Fig. 2, at T. The tuck ends of the pockets are left open, and the bunches placed therein protrude therefrom wherefore the tuck ends of the bunches are trimmed flush with the tuck ends of their pock- .ets by the other knife I26.

For the purpose of transferring the bunches after they have been located and trimmed in the pockets [6a, a transfer device is provided. This transfer device is fully described in the Wheeler patent above referred to and consists of spring pressed grippers or jaws II enclosing a cigar shaped space within, and. a plunger I8 having a face conforming to the shape of the bunch, and movable between the grippers to eject a bunch within the grippers into the pocket I la. The bunch gripper I! and the plunger I8 forming the transfer head are alternately movable into register with the uppermost pocket of the carrier I6 and the uppermost pocket of the carrier I4. For this purpose, the transfer head is pivotally supported on a transfer arm BI which swings, as shown by the double arrowin. Fig. l. The transfer head is maintained in vertical position as disclosed in the Wheeler patent by means of a chain 26 engaging over a stationary sprocket, not shown, secured to the transfer head and a sec ond sprocket, not shown, secured onthe shaft 2| carrying the transfer arm BI. The transfer head is also rotated 90 degrees about its vertical axis through engagement of gear 2Ia secured to the second mentioned sprocket and engaging a gear 2 lb secured to stem 23.

In the operation of the transfer device 2, cigars from the pocket I6a, Fig. l, are ejected into the grippers I! by ejector pins 38 reciprocated in proper timed relation by means of a rod 35. After the grippers I! have registered with the pocket I la as shown in Fig. 1, the last part of the motion of the transfer arm carries a plunger operating arm 22 against the stem 23 of the ejecting plunger I8 and thus ejects the bunch into the pocket Ma, which is open, at this position. The arm. 6| is given its movement by means of a reciprocating rack bar 24 and a pinion 25 reciprocated in timed relation to the parts of the machine by means fully disclosed in the patent to Wheeler, referred to.

After the transfer head is moved away from Docket I8, a mold cover or male concentrator section 52 is placed in the pocket l8 by any suitable means such as the mold cover carrier arm 56 which is more fully disclosed in the patent to Rundell 1,838,157 to which reference is also made for details of the mechanism associated with the carrier I4. The female pocket concentrator sec tions 2? are secured to the turret I4 and when. shaping the bunches therein are covered by male concentrator sections or elements 52 which are forced inwardly in a plane at right angles to the axis of the shaft I3 by rollers 53 secured to each end of the covers which run in cam tracks 54 supported on the rods 55 carried by the frames 5, one of each of which is on either side of the turret. These cam tracks surround the circular turret or carrier except for an opening at the top permitting the shaper elements to be removed in order to receive and discharge the bunches. Bunch discharging means are not shown in the present illustration because not a part of the present invention and because shown in the Rundell patent referred to.

The male shaper elements 52, as previously stated, are removed by means of a swinging arm 56 secured to a shaft 51 driven through a pinion secured to shaft 51 by a rack bar 59 driven from the main drive of the machine. This arm carries continuations of the roller cam tracks 54 for receiving and. lifting the cover elements.

As shown in Fig. 2, after each bunch is placed in one of pockets IBa and the tail projecting through the slot I61) has been trimmed, a small tit or projection T is left on the bunch B. This projection has been a source of considerable trouble in the past since a wrapper applied about this head end will not lie smoothly but will bridge the hollow between the corners of the tit and the shoulders of the bunch. Also the corners of the tit will, during the knurling or like finishing operation tend to grind away the wrapper and make a bad head, as well as a head which is not true to the original mold shape. Applicant eliminates this difficulty by trimming the bunch in one pocket, which pocket serves mainly to locate the bunch for the trimming operation and to receive the bunches in a conventional manner from the operator, and shaping and compressing the bunches in another and separate set of fully shaped pockets and shaping elements. The latter pockets and elements are fully closed at the head end as shown in Fig. 3 and thus turn in and squeeze to exact predetermined preferred shape the titted bunch head as received from thefirst set of pockets, resulting in a fully shaped bunch head and resulting cigar head, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5; This results from the closed head end wall portion 21a turning in the tit portion in the path of the shaping element 52. In this manner, a perfectly pointed or rounded head end can be obtained in practically exact accordance with the theoretical shape which the machine was designed to produce.

The material at the head end of the bunch and the slight elongations as the result of the pressure exerted by the mold 52 tend to slightly elongate the bunch as shown at the left hand of Fig. 3. To trim this material at the tuck end of the bunch, a knife I36 on an arm I35 carried by a rod 55 fixed in the frames 5, is provided which coacts with the tuck ends of successive pockets H3 in the carrier M to trim the bunches.

The parts above referred to may be widely varied in construction within. the scope of the claims for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible concrete embodiments of the same. The invention therefore is not to be restricted to the spe cific construction shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with traveling means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a plurality of complementary shaping elements movable into and co-operating with a plurality of said pockets to compress the bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar head.

2. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with moving means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a plurality of cornplementary shaping elements movable into and co-operating with a plurality of said pockets to compress the bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar head, and means giving the head and tuck ends of said elements equal movement in a plane at right angles to the length of the bunches in said pockets.

3. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with moving means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets each having a shaping wall at the end corresponding with the head end of a bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of complementary shaping elements movable into and co-operating with a plurality of said pockets to compress the bunches and form completely closed and fully shaped cigar heads, and mechanism for trimming the head end of each of said bunches prior to the compressing and forming operation, said mechanism including a bunch conveying device having a cigar shaped pocket for receiving and locating the bunch and having a slot at its head end permitting a tail of the bunch to project, and a cutter acting outside of said slotted pocket to trim said tail from said bunch. w

4. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets arranged in spaced relation on said means, each having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of movable complementary shaping elements co-operating with respective pockets to compress the bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar head, mechanism for trimming the head end of said bunch prior to the compressing and forming operation, and means coacting with the pockets of said series to trim the tuck ends of the bunches therein after said operation.

5. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with travelling means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets arranged in spaced relation on said means, each having a shaping wall at the end corresponding with the head end of the bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a plurality of complementary shaping elements travelling with and movable into said pockets to compress the bunches and form completely closed and fully shaped cigar heads, and mechanism for trimming the head end of each of said bunches prior to the compressing and forming operation, said mechanism including a bunch conveying device having a cigar shaped pocket for receiving and locating the bunch and having a slot at its head end permitting a tail of the bunch to project, a cutter acting outside of said pocket to trim said tail from said bunch, and a reciprocating plunger for seating the bunches in said trimming pocket prior to trimming.

6. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with a rotatable turret having a series of cigar shaped pockets which are open at the tuck ends and fully closed at the head ends of the pockets, a member coacting with one of said pockets to shape a bunch therein, and a cutter co-operating with said open end to trim the tuck end of the shaped bunch protruding therefrom.

7. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets adapted to enclose a cigar bunch on three sides while leaving a fourth side open, said pockets having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch, fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a plurality out complementary shaping elements each moving into and co-op erating with one of said pockets to fully seat the bunch in said pocket and compress and fully form the head end of the same, devices for giving said element movement in a plane at right angles to the length of said pocket, and cutting mechanism arranged to trim the bunch at the head end thereof prior to the operation of said element.

8. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means providing an endless series of cigar shaped pockets adapted to enclose a cigar bunch on three sides while leaving a fourth side open, said pockets having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch, fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a plurality of complementary shaping elements each moving and co-operating with one of said pockets to fully seat the bunch in said pocket and compress and fully form the head end of the same, devices for giving said element movement in a path at right angles to the length of said pocket and cutting mechanism arranged to trim the bunch at the head end thereof prior to the operation of said element, said means comprising a horizontal axis turret having pockets arranged about the circumference thereof.

9. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, an endless traveling shaper having a series of cigar shaped pockets, an endless traveling carrier also having a series of cigar shaped pockets, each of the pockets of said shaper being fully closed at the tip of the bunch at the head end thereof, each of the pockets in the said carrier being open at the head end thereof to permit a tail portion of the bunch to project, a cutter co-acting with the open end of each of said pockets during the movement thereof to trim said tail from the bunch, means for transferring the trimmed bunch into the pockets of the shaper, complementary cigar shaping elements movable into and coacting with each of said closed end pockets to enclose a cigar shaped space fully closed to the extreme tip at the head thereof, and a member for ejecting the trimmed bunches from said carrier pockets and delivering them to said bunch transferring means.

10. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means providing a cigar shaped pocket having a shaping wall at the head end of the bunch fully closed to a height greater than one-half the thickness of the bunch, of a movable complementary shaping element movable into and co-operating with said pocket to compress the bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar head, and means for trimming the tuck end of said bunch subsequent to the compressing and forming operation.

11. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means providing a cigar shaped pocket having a shaping wall closed at the tip of the bunch at the head end thereof, of a mechanism also having a cigar shaped pocket, the pocket in said mechanism being open at the head end of the pocket to permit a tail portion of the bunch to project, a cutter co-operating with said open end to trim the bunch, means for transferring the trimmed bunch into the pocket of said means, a member for ejecting the trimmed bunch from said open end pocket into said bunch transferring means, and a complementary shaping element movable into the pocket in said means to cooperate therewith and compress the trimmed bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar bunch shaping enclosure at the head end of the bunch.

12. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, thecombination with means providing a cigar shaped pocket having a shaping wall closed at the tip of the bunch at the head end thereof, of a mechanism also having a cigar shaped pocket, the

open end to trim the bunch, means for transferring the trimmed bunch into the pocket of said means, a complementary shaping element movable into cooperation with the pocket in said means to compress the trimmed bunch and form a completely closed and fully shaped cigar bunch shaping enclosure at the head end of the bunch, and a cutter co-acting with the pocket of said means to trim the tuck end of the bunch therein after the shaping operation.

13. In a cigar bunch machine, the combination with mechanism providing a cigar shaped pocket open at either end to receive an untrimmed cigar bunch while permitting surplus material to project from said ends, of cutters co-operating with said pocket to trim the surplus material from the tuck and head ends of the bunch, a shaping means including a cigar shaped pocket for shaping one side of the trimmed bunch, a movable complementary shapingelement into the pocket and acting on the other side of the bunch to compress and shape the same, and a cutter for trimming the tuck end of said shaped bunch.

14. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means having an endless series of cigar bunch shaping pockets each having a closed wall at the end which corresponds with the head end of a bunch, of means comprising movable shaping elements of bunch contour movable into and cooperating with the respective pockets in succession to shape bunches placed therein into cigar shape, whereby fully shaped tips are secured, and a member for trimming the tuck ends of bunches after they have been shaped by said elements.

15. In a cigar bunch shaping machine, the combination with means having an endless series of cigar bunch shaping pockets each having a closed wall at the end which corresponds with the head end of a bunch, of mechanism for trimming the head end of the bunch, means comprising movable shaping elements of bunch contour movable into and cooperating with the respective pockets in succession to shape the trimmed bunches placed therein into cigar shape, whereby fully shaped tips are secured, means for trimming the tuck end of the shaped bunch, said mechanism operating on the bunch at a position distant from said shaping pockets, and transfer means for delivering the trimmed bunch into said pockets.

JOHN F. HALSTEAD. 

